Stage Twenty-One

 I was pushing it one final time trying to reach Darby and its municipal campground hopefully with a television and Wi-Fi for the peloton’s finale on the Champs Elysees at 7:30.  I made it by seven in time to see the last few laps.  I had to pass through the town to the campground and was prepared to dart into a bar, but there wasn’t one to be seen.  

I was concerned as I passed through the town not to see the usual signs to either the cemetery, at the turn shortly before the campground, or for the campground.  The cemetery was there but still no sign for the campground, which are as ubiquitous as signs for libraries in the US.  

When I came to where the campground was supposed to be there was a barrier across the entrance and I could see it was closed down.  Oh well.  I could still slip in and pitch my tent but would have to be content with the results transmitted to my iPad.  I waited until I had set up my tent to see what had happened, a little disappointed in missing out on those magnificent images of the Champs and the Arc de Triomphe.  The racers all speak of the tingles they feel upon arriving on that renowned boulevard and I vicariously share it hundreds of miles away.

The expected sprint came down to another photo finish and Philipson, the overwhelming favorite, was denied with Jordi Meeus of Bora the surprise winner one  Belgian beating another.  If I’d gotten to a television I would have seen the ever-frisky Pogaçar flexing his muscles once again taking the spotlight when the peloton reached the Champs for the first of its eight laps trying to break away and then later being the first to charge to the front to lead out the sprint.  

The guy just can’t help himself, he loves to ride all-out even when it doesn’t matter and is a hopeless cause.  And the fans love it.  He will have the support of the majority next year when he and Vingegaard will have another go at it to see who will be the first to three as they both now have two Tour victories.  

Vingegaard is not adverse to racing either, as he just made the surprise announcement that he will race the Vuelta next month alongside his teammate Primo Roglic, who won the Giro earlier this year, as Jumbo Visma makes a bid to win all three Grand Tours.  It will be an exciting race with Geraint Thomas, who finished second in the Giro, leading Ineos and Remco Evenpoel, last year’s winner, contesting it as well.

As I was cycling out of the Vosges and into less demanding terrain I heard Stuart O’Grady, an Aussie with seventeen Tour appearances, tell Bobbie and Jens on their podcast that each time he arrived on the Champs he felt a great sense of accomplishment, just as much the last time as the first.  He arrived tired but also in a state of superior fitness that he wished he could maintain, but couldn’t as he needed to recover.  I too felt extra strength in my legs, putting in longer stretches than usual between pauses to rest, as I rode hard to Darby.  

As I push on to Paris I’d like to arrive a day ahead of my flight home on Friday to venture to the start of today’s stage to the west of Paris on the opposite side of the city from the Charles de Gaulle airport.  It was at the velodrome that will be used at the Olympics next summer.  

With so many story lines at this year’s Tour little attention was paid to the Lantern Rouge, always a go-to topic when not much is going on.  It was another Dane of the eleven in the race, allowing Denmark to claim the top and the bottom of the standings.  And a Dane who used to get lots of attention as Cavendish’s lead out man—Michael Morkov, still riding for Quick Step, the team that let Cavendish go after last year.  He finished 150th with twenty-six of the starters not making it.  

One of the last to bow out was Vingegaard‘s stalwart teammate Van Aert after Pogaçar fell seven minutes behind, his services no longer needed, leaving to be with his wife for the birth of their second child, arriving home the day before.  Gaudu won the battle for the best French rider, finishing ninth, just ahead of Gaudu and Pinot at tenth and eleventh.  Three countries landed two riders in the top ten—Great Britain, Spain and France.